Ups and Downs
by fantasyguardian
Summary: Who said that every girl has her own prince Charming? Whoever said that must have lived in a world that is not ours. Looking back at her life,nothing had gone well. Could this just another one of her life's ups and downs? Sora did hope it was that simple.
1. Another day of my life…I think

Who said that every girl has her own prince Charming? Whoever said that must have lived in a world that is not ours.

Looking back at her life, nothing had gone right. Starting from the death of her father, remarrying of her mother and finally at her marriage.

Could this just another one of her life's ups and downs. She did hope it was that simple.

Chapter (1):

Another day of my life…I think?

"Mommy!"

The little girl kept calling as she crossed the long hallway to reach her mother's room. Opening the door, a smile crept on her angelic face, as she saw a delicate sleeping figure on the queen sized bed.

"Mommy! Wake up! It's time for school."

She ran to the bed to hear her mom mutter," I don't want to go to school."

A laugh escaped from the girl's mouth before she said", Not you! Me!"

She pulled the bed sheets to uncover her mom to see her shudder and try to reach for the sheets, still closing her eyes.

"Mom"

Her mother opened up her eyes and stared at her for a while before smiling. Even if she weren't a morning person, how couldn't she smile at the young girl's innocent face?

As she yawned, she examined her daughter's face, hair and especially her eyes. The girl looked exactly like her. Long red fiery hair, not as long as her mother's though. Ruby colored eyes that were full of energy. A pale skin that matched Snow white's. Every time she looked at her daughter, she thanked god she had not taken any of her father's features.

"Mommy! Come on! I'll be late!"

A soft laugh escaped her fiery lips before she said, "Ok! Go downstairs and prepare breakfast for the two of us and I'll be ready in a few minutes."

"Yes, ma'am!" The girl said as she, playfully, saluted her mother and ran out of the room.

Stretching, Sora got off the bed. After running through her morning routine ad picking the outfit for the day, which was a black dress that went past her knees, a grey jacket and long black leather boots, she went downstairs to see her little angel pour some orange juice in two plastic cups.

"Mmmm…My favourite cereal, too. Oh, Saya, how could I ever live without you?"

Saya smiled at her mother's words and pulled out the chair for her to sit.

"Thank you!" Sora said as she sat down and watched Saya climb the other chair to eat her breakfast.

Sipping from her orange juice, Sora stared at her little girl. That was the only good thing that ever happened to her.

When she was young, her father died in a car accident leaving her and her mother alone with so little money. Her mother had a small flower shop, but it didn't bring back enough money, which was the reason for her mother's remarriage.

Her stepfather was just a piece of garbage disguising as a human. He made her and her mother's life miserable which must have affected her mother's immunity system causing her sudden death two years later.

As she grew up, her stepfather just tried to torture her as much as he could until she was sixteen. He made her marry one of his businessmen fellows who was much older than she was.

About a year later, Saya was born to give her life a whole new meaning. About a year later, she finally got divorced.

Now that Saya was her only family, her life became a little better. She was now working as a fashion designer for a huge company in Japan and was earning a lot of money which helped her get Saya into the best school and buy her the best clothes and toys.

Only if her own happiness was as simple as playing with a new doll.

"Mom!"

Her thoughts were cut by her daughter' call.

"It's seven already."

"What?"

Hurrying to their car, Sora made sure she got her own purse and Saya's backpack. Driving as fast as she could, they arrived fifteen minutes later.

Sora watched Saya hurry into her classroom and was just going to leave only to see a man standing behind her. Noticing him at once, she greeted him, "Good morning, Mr. Kamiya".

"Good morning, Mrs. Takenouchi. Late as always, aren't we?"

Tai Kamiya... He was her daughter's teacher. Tall, athletic body, with chocolate brown eyes and hair and a tanned skin. He had been a great help to Sora in raising up Saya.

"A little late, unfortunately." She replied smiling, before she added," I have to go now. Have an important meeting in fifteen minutes."

….

Meanwhile, a pair of crystal blue eyes didn't leave Sora.

A tall, muscular man was standing by a nearby bus stop and watching Sora. The blond man dialed a number on his cell phone. Just as he heard the person on the other side of the call answer, he said in a deep voice," Target detected."

….

So, did you like it? Didn't you like? Wanna know what you, guys, think.

Now for the disclaimer, I don't own any of the digimon characters.


	2. DING!

I am so glad some people liked this story. I am sooo touched. I'd like to thank KoumiLoccness and xoelizabethxo for their support.

Now, I'd like to say, but I know that you already figured that part out, I don't own any of the digimon character.

Now Enjoy and don't forget R &R!

….

Chapter (2):

DING!

"Oh man! I am so late!" Sora exclaimed as she checked her watch and hurried out of her car, up the stairs and into the magnificent building.

"Sora" She stopped in her track to see Izzy across the hall. Izzy was simply a gentleman. Maybe he was short, but still he was good looking. Not that she liked him in that way, mind you.

His short red hair was always so organized and his brown eyes were always filled with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. Maybe he was a bit nerdy, but he was good-natured. Being the head of the computer department of the company, he had helped her a lot when she started working for this company. When Saya was younger, she always referred to him as her most "favouwest unkie" in the whole wide world.

"Sorry, Izzy! I am late for the meeting." She said as she ran out of the hall and into another room.

He sighed and muttered," Why does she always have to make me run after her?"

"Maybe coz that's Sora."

He turned around to see his dream girl and most probably many others' as well. She was Mimi Tachikawa, one of the most famous models in the world. Her long brown hair was hanging smoothly behind her back and her beautiful honey colored eyes were sparkling. Oh! She was simply so pretty.

"Mimi, you're back!" He blushed a little and hoped she didn't notice. After all, she was engaged to Brian, one of the male models, who was way stronger and more good looking than he was, "How was your trip to Paris?"

Sighing, she replied," For Mimi, the model, it was brilliant. As for Mimi, the girl, it was heartbreaking."

Concern was shown on Izzy's face, as he asked," Why?"

A small sad smile was on Mimi's beautiful face as she replied," Well, I found out that Brian was cheating on me."

Izzy's emotions were split into two. Half of him was happy that now maybe he had a chance with her. The other half was sad to see her heartbroken, but he preferred only to show the latter as he said," He is so dead."

Smiling, as she caressed his hair, she replied, "No, Izzy, I can handle it." Gaining her spirit back, she asked him, "What did you want to tell Sora? I have to go to her anyway."

"Oh! Two things: The meeting she is running to catch was cancelled."

Mimi laughed at that.

"And I have taken her designs to the boss, as she asked me to bring them."

Mimi chuckled as she said," Knowing Sora, she would be rummaging through her office trying to find them now. Okay! Gotta go and tell her before she freaks out."

Seeing her off, Izzy felt that his feet no longer could support him and he melted slowly on a nearby chair.

…

"Come on already!" Sora shouted at the elevator. Why was it always late when she needed it the most? Hearing the DING that announced the arrival of the elevator, she hurried inside and pushed the 21st button.

Tapping her feet impatiently, she looked at the doors as they closed only to see a polished black shoe stopping them from doing that. And in came a man she had never seen before.

His blonde hair was artistic. His black shirt showed his well-built body. His black jeans were so perfect. Smiling at her, he took off the sunglasses he was wearing only to show his crystal blue eyes.

Feeling somehow mesmerized, Sora didn't notice he wanted to press the button for his floor. Stretching his hand, he pressed on the 15th floor, slowly brushing against her arm causing her to shiver, before he went to stand in the opposite corner of the elevator.

Why was she acting like that, Sora didn't know. Feeling nervous because of his mere presence, Sora stared at the numbers showing which floors were they in. They were still in the 5th floor.

Come on! Ten more to go. Sneaking a peak at him, she saw he had his sunglasses back on which caused her to be more nervous. Who knew what he was looking at? He might be checking her out for all she knew.

Five more to go.

He seemed to be checking the number as well with his shiny smile still on his face. Why was he smiling?

DING! Sora let out a breath she didn't notice she was holding a little louder than she intended to.

Getting out, he put his hand on the doors to stop them from closing before whispering in a husky voice," Relax a bit, will you?"

And the doors were closed. He noticed her nervousness. Was she so obvious? What was he thinking of her now?

Why was she caring what he was thinking? He was a stranger and most probably, she didn't have to meet him again.

DING!

The 21st floor, where her office was. Going through her files hurriedly, she panicked, as she couldn't find her latest designs. Great! Not only was she late, she also didn't have her designs. What kind of a professional designer was she? A stupid one, for sure.

"Maybe if you listened to Izzy, you wouldn't be very angry." Mimi said as she leant by the door's frame.

"Mimi, you're back?" Sora said as she hugged her best friend tightly. Then, she noticed what she said and asked her quickly," What do you mean?'

"The meeting was cancelled and Izzy took your designs to your boss, already, bird-head."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Sora relaxed into her chair before asking Mimi," How are you dealing with the breakup?"

"I am much better now." Mimi replied as she sat down on the opposite chair.

"You know what, I never liked Brian." Sora said as she flipped her red hair behind her back and went on, "You deserve someone better."

Mimi smiled, but didn't say anything.

"Sora Takenouchi!" a female voice said in a microphone. She was Sora's Boss, Nina, "Please come to my office".

"What have I done now?", Sora exclaimed.

"You're such a paranoid." Mimi said," Why do you always assume the worse?"

Sora's face saddened a little and Mimi knew she hit a string… A sensitive one.

Getting up and putting her hand on Sora's shoulder, she said," I am sorry, Sora. I know you've been through much , but I am sure the worse is over."

Lifting Sora's chin to look at her," You're a beautiful girl who is so talented, always remember that."

Sora smiled slightly before getting up and heading towards the door, only to stop when she heard Mimi saying, "Sora, and, relax a bit, will you?"

….


	3. A Date?

Chapter (3): A date?

Straightening out her clothes, Sora stood facing her boss' door. Taking a deep breath, she was about to knock on the door, when she saw it already being opened.

"Oh! There you are, Sora!" A middle-aged attractive woman, with shoulder length brown hair, exclaimed. One look at her is all it took anyone to immediately know she meant business. Her honey coloured eyes were always on the look-out for details. Nothing could ever escape her. "I was about to come pick you up myself." With that, she pulled Sora inside. How her delicate looking hands could be that strong was beyond Sora.

Once inside the office, Sora noticed that someone was sitting at Nina's desk … And that particular someone was still wearing his sunglasses from before. Why would anyone wear sunglasses inside a building? He was looking straight at Sora. Or, at least, his face was directing Sora. One could never tell with those glasses on.

"Of course, Sora, you know who that is." Nina addressed her. Before Sora even had the chance to reply, Nina went on, "This gentleman here is Yamato Ishida, aka Matt, the Howling Wolves lead singer and guitar player."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Ishida!" Sora addressed him politely as she sat down at Nina's desk as well.

"The pleasure is all mine," Matt said, ending his sentence with one of his charming smiles, "and call me Matt."

Sitting down, Nina seemed to be scanning them for a second or so, before adding, "Sora here is my best designer. Always thinking outside the box! And that's exactly what you want." Turning back to Sora, she went on, "See, Sora! Matt and his band need a wild new look. They have a major concert here featuring many famous singers and well, you know the rest of the story. The problem is, they have no idea whatsoever what exactly they want to wear. That's where you come in. I'm sure if you get to know their band's style more, you'll be able to design something fresh for them."

Great! Another snobby band with shallow members is always something to look forward for. No matter how much she hated doing that, it was part of her job. Since she liked the rest of her job, she could do nothing but flash a polite smile to the client and say, "When would you like to start, Mr. Ishida?"

"Matt!" He said correcting her, "And right now!"

"Great! Sora, take Matt to your office and well, get to work." That been said, Nina started making her phone calls right away. Busy, busy Nina!

"Then, follow me please!" Sora said standing up.

…..

"So, your concert is in three months." Sora asked trying not to look at Matt straightly. It was official. He crept her out with those sunglasses, "And you band has four members."

Not hearing any response from him, she looked at him slowly only to see him nodding. She went back to looking at her screen only to hear him chuckle.

"Um…Mind if I ask what do you find so funny?"

Pointing at her, he replied, still with a chuckle, "I see you're still worrying like before."

Blushing, she straightened herself before replying, "Well, it's those sunglasses!"

"Oh!" Matt said taking his sunglasses off, "Better?"

'Actually, it's worse', Sora thought inside her head. His eyes! They're so clear! So pure! But, she couldn't ask him to take those off, right? So, she only nodded back.

"How about I take you out to dinner tonight?"

What? She looked at him questioningly, "Sorry?"

"You know! You'll need to know me more. Besides, I have to go now." Matt explained simply, "I have a rehearsal in a while."

"I'm not sure about today. You see, I have a daughter," he was studying her thoroughly, "I'm not sure I'll be able to find a babysitter in such a short notice."

"We can take her with us," he offered smiling, "You know, the earlier you start knowing me and my band, the sooner you'll get ideas for us."

Thinking about it for a moment, she couldn't find anything wrong with that. He seems to be polite. Creepy with those sunglasses, but polite. So, Saya won't be affected negatively by him … "Fine by me."

"Great, can I have your address?" Matt asked, "So, I'll pick you up?"

Scribbling her address and cellphone number on a piece of paper, she handed it to him.

"Great! Tonight at seven, then!" he said, flashing her another smile, before standing up and leaving.

"Why do I feel I'm making a big mistake?" Sora mumbled to herself.

"Because, you're always freaking out like that?" Sora looked up at Mimi who was standing in the door way. Suddenly, Mimi squealed, "Sora has a date with Yamato Ishida!"

"No! No! I don't," Sora hurried to pull Mimi inside her office and close the door before anyone hearing her, but seeing the heads popping out of the offices, she knew the damage was already done, "It's only a business dinner!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Mimi said sarcastically before going back to her excitement, "I'll have to choose a dress for you. You know, first impressions are very important. And your hair, soft twirls will make you look like princesses. Oh! And make up..."

Sora slammed her head, knowing that she was already regretting her approval.

…

"It's funny how you're a fashion designer and don't have that much clothes." Mimi said scanning through Sora's closet.

"I don't go out that much." Sora replied absently, while brushing Saya's hair.

"Mommy, is he a nice man?" Saya asked innocently.

"Oh! He's nice alright!" Mimi said from between the dresses, "The Nicest!"

Hearing that, a large smile was drawn on Saya's face before asking, "Can we keep him after this night?" Sora stopped brushing to look at Saya, "You know I need a daddy, right?"

Mimi laughed loudly, "yeah, Sora, didn't you notice you were missing something?"

Sighing, Sora kissed Saya on the forehead before saying, "We'll see about that. Don't say anything about that in front of him, okay?" With a few more brushes and putting her hair in a small ponytail, Sora said, "Here! We're done!"

"Soraaaaaaa!" Mimi called her singing, "What do you think?"

Sora turned around to see Mimi holding a red dress she never bought. It was a low cut, short red dress, "I knew I wouldn't find anything good in your closet, so I bought a couple of dresses for you."

"No!" Sora said examining the dress, "Too revealing for a business meeting."

"It's not a business meeting." Mimi said angrily. Throwing that dress on Sora's bed, she took another shopping bag she had and took out a short black dress. It was a simple boat neck dress. Chic and classy!

"You know what? I actually like it." Sora said earning a wide smile from Mimi.

"What're you waiting for, then?" Mimi handed the dress to Sora and pushed her inside the bathroom, "Try it now!"

…..

**Yeah! It's been a loooooooooooong time, but well, for some reason, I kept on rewriting this chapter a lot. In the end, after finishing it this time, I decided to post it before changing my mind again.**

**So, like it? Don't like it? Tell me what you think. Thanks a for all of you who reviewed or added it to your favourites. Hope I won't let you down.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the digimon characters.**


	4. Celebrity Looks

Chapter (4): Celebrity looks

The shrill sound of the doorbell filled her heart with excitement. Matt Ishida was at the door…Their door. Coming to pick them up for a whole night together…Well, a dinner, at least! Skipping to the door, she opened it up without a second of hesitance and asked in the most serious tone she could master…

"You're Matt Ishida?"

The blonde rock star looked at her from above (Since he was way taller), before a small smile appearing on his face and replying, "Yeah! That's me. And you're?"

"Saya!" She said formally extending her hand towards him to shake his, "Saya Yoshida." So, she still kept her father's surname, huh?

Chuckling, he decided not to ruin her mood and replied back, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Saya!"

"Same here, Mr. Ishida. And I think it'd be better to just call me Saya." She said, with a little innocent smile on her face, "I'll go call mom, but you can make yourself at home."

Seeing her skipping to the staircase and running upwards, he let out a laugh he had been holding in. Well, that was interesting. Her daughter is quite … mature for her age. Still, she had that aura of innocence around her just like her mother…Her mother that was standing in front of him right now… How didn't he see her coming down? And … how did he miss how pretty she looked?

His crystal blue eyes looked at how those soft red curls framed her face and how her dress seemed to just fit her right and a soft smirk was drawn on his face as he said, "I see how lucky I am to have such an amazing lady to be my … business date for tonight."

Sora blushed at his words and said, "I'm sorry if Saya said anything wrong. I didn't even hear the doorbell."

He smiled at Saya before replying, "No! No! I was happy to finally meet your little daughter." He looked back at Sora and said, "She takes after you in a lot of thing by the way." Then, he smacked his forehead and said, "Look at me totally forgetting the reason why I'm here in the first place. Shall we go?" He asked offering Sora his arm and opening the door for them.

"WOW!" Saya said as her eyes widened on seeing Matt's car, his beautiful expensive shining car. Turning around to face Matt, she asked, "We're riding this?"

Chuckling, Matt opened the back door and bowed saying, "Have a seat, my lady!"

Squealing, Saya ran into the car, sat down and buckled her seatbelt. Seeing her already settled, Matt closed the door gently and opened the passenger seat door for Sora. Seeing that she, too, was seated, he head to his own seat, brought his engine to life and drove off.

…..

"I have a reservation by the name of …" Matt was cut off by the guy at the reservation desk, saying, "Yamato Ishida. Of course, sir! It's an honor to have you, here." Having said that, he started leading them to a quiet table by a huge window overlooking the whole city, "someone will be right here to take your orders." With a bow, he left.

"I wanna be famous!" Saya exclaimed causing the two grownups to smile, before she picked up her own menu and started to scan through it quietly.

"I tried to reserve a quiet table for us to talk." Matt said, turning to face Sora, "I just hope the service here is as quiet. Enjoying yourself so far?"

Sora smiled while replying, "You really didn't need to worry that much."

Matt was going to say something, but a waiter showed up by his side and said in deep voice, "May I take your orders?"

…

"So, I've seen some of your old outfits and I noticed that you always go with dark colours?"

Thinking for a second or so, Matt replied, "Yeah! But, this time we want it different." Taking a sip off his juice, he went on, "I'm looking for a … lighter mood overall."

"Got it!" Sora said scribbling something down in a small notebook she had, "Light colours!"

"Has anyone told you before that you should've become an actor or a singer?" Matt asked calmly.

Surprised, Sora gazed at him…And so did Saya.

"Sorry?" Sora asked nervously. Was he trying to hit on her? Infront of her own daughter? Really?

"It's just that…" He trailed off not looking at her directly, "you've got the looks…celebrity looks." With that he stood up adding, "Excuse me for a second." Winking at her, he turned around and head towards the bathrooms.

Sora's mouth was still open. "What just happened?" she muttered before looking at Saya who pretended not looking.

…

Once inside the bathroom, Matt looked at his reflection in the mirror. His fingers toughed softly the area under his eye…Looks normal…Good! No need for surprises.

"Flirty as usual, Ishida?"

Matt turned around to see a taller man with long black hair and bristles all over his face looking at him. His eyes shone evilly with a reddish colour, "Growing a soft spot for her?"

**Yeah! A bit faster update, huh? A very short chapter, but that's because I felt that if I don't stop here, I won't be able to stop before a looooooooooong part. So, I thought it'd be better, if I have the next chapter a bit longer. **

**Well, I guess it's time for everyone to see why I put under it drama/mystery. It won't be a mystery as in solving cases and looking for clues mystery, but… well, you will see for yourselves ;)**

**Since this is my first Sorato fanfic, well generally, my first digimon fanfic, I'll appreciate any reviews or well constructive criticism to make it better. So, R & R!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the digimon characters.**


	5. Red Eyes

**Chapter (5): Red Eyes**

_Once inside the bathroom, Matt looked at his reflection in the mirror. His fingers touched softly the area under his eye…Looks normal…Good! No need for surprises._

_"Flirty as usual, Ishida?"_

_Matt turned around to see a taller man with long black hair and bristles all over his face looking at him. His eyes shone evilly with a reddish colour, "Growing a soft spot for her?" _

"What do you want, Damon?" Matt asked him bitterly, "Are you following me?"

The other man laughed softly as he came to examine himself in the mirror, too. After what seemed a second, he whispered, "I'm just a nagging reminder…" He threw a picture at Matt, "of the reason why you accepted this mission."

Matt's eyes filled with sorrow as he examined the younger boy in the picture. They had a huge resemblance…in everything except for how the younger boy seemed to be livelier. Matt's voice came out very low and deep, "I said I'll do it and I don't go back on my word. You know it's not that easy."

Damon shrugged as he passed by the blonde and exited the bathroom.

…..

Matt peeked out of the bathroom, but Damon was nowhere to be seen, so he exited the bathroom, as well, straightening his clothes and fixing his hair as he walked. Once he came to where Sora and Saya were sitting, he sat down quietly not meeting their questioning gazes.

"Are you alright, Matt?" asked Sora with worry in her voice. Was she worried about him? Was she worried because of him? He couldn't tell.

Faking an unbelievably sincere-looking smile, he replied, "Yes! I'm perfectly fine." Once he looked past her however, his smile dropped. Damon was sitting right behind her smirking. With his two hands, the black haired man traced Sora's sitting figure in the air and turned around.

Feeling a lump in his throat, Matt cleared his voice as he said, "Since we're all done with dinner, would you like to go to a slightly quieter place?"

That question only earned him arched eyebrows from the mother and daughter for the restaurant was very quiet, but Sora, then said, "I believe that's enough for today. I need to revise the points we talked about today."

Matt almost exhaled in relief, but just said, "As you wish."

…

After parking in front of Sora's house, Matt got out to open the door for Saya. Sora got out of the car and stood quietly as Saya jumped out of it.

"I think I owe you an apology, Sora." Matt began only to be interrupted by Sora saying, "No, don't even worry about it. You're going through a lot of stress nowadays."

_More than you think!_ Matt thought, but politely nodded. Watching Sora head for the door to open it, he didn't notice that Saya was still standing beside him.

"If you like my mom, you must behave better than that." Looking at the child in disbelief, he heard her add before following her mom inside, "She's been through a lot."

…..

"So, let me get this straight." Mimi said twirling her now-pink shorter hair with a thoughtful look on her face, "the guy actually complimented you, so you think he's weird." Giving Sora a serious look, she added, "You really need to change your stream of thoughts."

Sora shook her head saying, "No! No! No!" Sora sighed in frustration as she folded her arms in front of her and leaned back in her chair, "I said, he THEN acted weird…as if he suddenly remembered something that alarmed him…or received some bad news."

Mimi chuckled, then, replied, "I still think you thought that because he complimented you."

Quietly growling at her fashionsita friend, Sora smacked her forehead. Hearing her cellphone ringing, she picked it up to see 'Taichi Kamiya' flashing on the screen. Muttering 'This can't be good', she pressed the green 'Answer' box.

"Hello?"

Taichi's voice came worried out of the speaker, "Hello, Miss Takenouchi. This is Tai, Saya's teacher."

Feeling his contagious worry sneaking into her heart, she replied rather quietly, "Hello, Mr. Kamiya…Is something wrong?"

Sighing into the phone, Tai replied, "I'm afraid so…Would you mind if we meet up in a few minutes? There is something that you should know."

Clearing her throat, Sora replied, "No…Not at all. I'm on my way."

…

Sora and Mimi were sitting on the opposite side of Tai's desk. Seeing how worried Sora is, Mimi had insisted on going with her to make sure Saya was alright.

Sighing, Tai ran his fingers through his hair before starting off, "Um…I'm sorry I called you during working hours, Miss Takenouchi." He stopped on hearing a soft interjection, "Sora…Call me Sora. We've known each other for far too long."

Nodding, Tai smiled softly saying, "Yes. I believe we do…No need for titles, then." His eyes scanned her fragile form as she seemed to shrink as time passed, "The reason why I called you is because I care about Saya more than anyone else in school."

He stopped to open one of the drawers and retrieved a childish painting from it. "Red eyes…Saya has been drawing them quite a lot lately," he said pointing at pairs of red eyes drawn all over the paper. Some of them belonged to the few stick humans Saya had drawn, while others seemed to shine from empty spaces. "Saya has become quieter and more of a loner. She refuses to play with any of the other kids preferring to sit in a corner and draw things like that …"

Sora didn't know what to say. Her daughter was born in … unfortunate circumstances. Her mother was very young…Having a not very good mother, also, did not help at all. A single hot tear scrolled down her face as she looked at the drawing…Her daughter was becoming a troubled kid…

"I've been noticing her for a while, but the reason that I called you today is…" He paused as if revising his words, "I asked her today what she was drawing and she told me…She said she was drawing the eyes she saw every night."

Sora raised her head to examine his face. Things were becoming even more dangerous…

"I asked her if she meant your eyes…I know they're reddish, but she told me, 'No! Their eyes have other colours but turn into red!' I'm worried this's not a simple case of imaginary friends. Your daughter is was too intelligent for that."

Hearing all that was an extra pair of ears. He was still wearing his sunglasses while hiding under the window of Tai's office. His blonde hair shone under the strong sunlight.

_They visit her!_ Matt whispered to himself thoughtfully.

…**..**

**So, I'm trying not to speed too much into the story, but in the same time, I don't want you guys to get bored. So, do you think I'm going too slow? So, no Sorato this chapter, but romance or fluffiness has its share in this story. I read this chapter more than once and tried to catch any typos or erros, but if you notice any, please notify me.**

**So, R & R. I also wanted to thank all of you who reviewed and added this story to their alert lists. Hope I won't let you down. **


	6. Losing the Fire

**Good Morning (or Evening according to where you are right now.)Well, yeah. I'm still alive. I've actually been preparing a grand return for Ups and Downs. I decided to quicken the pace a bit. So, here's a somewhat longer and more interesting chapter comparing to the ones we had before. Enjoy.**

**...**

**Chapter (6): Losing the Fire**

The hall was dark except for the bright lights of the runway. Loud music was in the air adding to the excitement. One after the other, models wearing her designs waltzed under the lights showing off every bit of her designs. Her friend, Mimi, was one of them. She could see the audience whispering amongst themselves pointing at an outfit every now and then. From the few years she spent in this field, she learnt to read the audience's eyes. And from what she saw now, they were pleased…excited…satisfied…Anything that she wasn't.

When did she start to lose her fire? Her enthusiasm? Wasn't she living her long fought for dream? What was wrong then? Even critics noticed a change in her designs…They were all much darker. They had that aura about them that made you feel...caged.

"_Mommy, I'm sorry,"_ Saya whispered to her when she asked her about the red eyes. "_They won't go away_."

Her reddish brown eyes examined her surroundings dully. There's no point in going on if she was losing her daughter…what was she doing here then?

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you the lady behind this great creation." Nina exclaimed in a microphone somewhere. The applause echoed through the room, as the lights changed to only show where Sora should make her grand entrance. As the applause died away, Nina's face could be seen paling by the second. Sora never entered the room…She was nowhere to be seen.

...

"Mommy, you're back so early." Saya exclaimed, "Are you okay?"

Smiling tiredly at her, Sora replied, "I thought we should watch a movie together…Pick one."

Saya's face brightened as she hopped to where their movies were stored. Of course, she'd pick a Disney movie. But, which one?

Her mom walked to her bedroom taking off her coat. In front of the mirror, she started removing the pins holding her hairdo. Afterwards, she started cleaning off her makeup. Once her face was all natural again, she could see the dark circles under her eyes. "_You look like an owl, Mommy,"_ Saya once exclaimed playfully.

Disney's theme played downstairs followed by Saya calling her, "Mommy! You're missing it."

...

An hour later, Saya had already fallen asleep on her mom's lap. Smiling at her innocent face, Sora switched the TV off. Slowly, she picked Saya up and took her to her bedroom. She placed her down carefully on the bed and lied down next to her. She knew she wasn't going to sleep tonight … Who's she kidding? She hadn't slept in days.

_A few mornings earlier, Saya woke up to see her mom lying next to her. She wasn't asleep, though. She was looking at her. A tired smile appeared on her mom's face, before she said, "Good Morning, Saya."_

"_Morning, mommy," She hugged her mother playfully._

"_Did you sleep well?"_

"_Yup!" Saya snuggled a bit more. She felt her mom's body tense a bit as she cleared her throat._

"_So…umm…No red eyes?"_

_Saya looked nervously at her as she whispered, "They don't like it when someone is around. They say you get in the way."_

Sometimes, she just hoped Saya would wake up one day saying she was making all that up. Or maybe she was imagining things. Unfortunately, deep down she had a feeling Saya was telling the truth and that the eyes were real. Saya was smarter than most kids her age. Some even say that she, Sora, the mother, was more childish than her daughter. She would never make things up…Yet, again, she was still hoping that was the case.

Her cellphone vibrated on the nightstand next to her bed. She looked lazily at it to see Mimi's name flashing on the screen. The phone stopped vibrating meaning that Mimi would now leave a voice message. Almost immediately, the small voice message icon flashed in the notification part of the screen. Checking her notifications, with her other arm holding Saya closely to her side, she saw that she had almost thirty missed calls and twenty five voice messages. Most of them were form Nina, Mimi and Izzy, while a couple was from Matt. She had almost forgotten about him in the last few days.

Deciding she was too tired to answer the calls and listen to the voice messages, she turned off the vibration feature of her phone and set it aside before snuggling next to her little daughter.

...

When her doorbell rang very early in the morning, Sora wasn't really startled. She figured they won't leave her alone for long … Not after the way she disappeared the last night. She was almost surprised that Mimi didn't knock off her door in the middle of the night screaming at her for almost causing her a heart attack. She put on a robe and went downstairs to open the door.

Mimi didn't even wait for her to completely open the door before she barged in. "What were you thinking giving us a heart attack like that?"

Izzy walked in politely muttering a quiet "Good Morning" to her. The poor guy must have had to console Mimi all night and prevent her from attacking Sora at midnight.

"You were there when the show started. You were there after we started the display. I saw you." Mimi was rambling furiously, "And then what? You just decided you didn't want to go with all of that and ran off?

"I'm sorry, Mimi," Sora's apology was barely audible.

"What about your cellphone? I called you a thousand times."

"I'm sorry, Mimi," Sora's voice was a bit higher.

"What about your home phone? Email? I can't bel…."

"I said I was sorry, so cut it out," Sora interrupted her angrily. Her worries and lack of sleep were really shortening her temper. Angrily, Mimi turned her back to her and glared at the wall. Guilt, immediately, took over her, but she wasn't really in need for lecturing.

Sensing the awkwardness between the two girls, Izzy kindly said, "Mimi was just worried about you, Sora. I was, too. Terrible thoughts kept rushing through our minds all night."

Totally, out of character, Sora whispered so only Izzy would listen to her, "You talked to her all night, Izzy?" She was really going crazy now if that thought occurred to her in such an inappropriate timing. Well, lack of sleep usually made her thing in a very irrational manner.

Izzy blushed hard as he explained in a hush, "…on the phone."

Mimi turned to face Sora again as she sighed. She seemed to have regained control over her temper again, "I'm sorry, Sora … It's just…I…" Rubbing the temples of her head, she asked, "What happened? Why did you disappear like that? "

Sora didn't reply. Her eyes just shifted to stare absently upstairs.

"Have you noticed anything yet?" Mimi asked to only get a silent shake of the head from Sora. "Well … "

She was cut off by her phone ringing. Sora saw it was Saya's school. She forgot to report her absence.

"Hello … Oh! Yeah it's me…Yeah she's here…Not feeling very good…No. Nothing major… Probably some normal cold…Yeah. I'm sorry I forgot to report her absence…Yeah…Thank you."

After hanging up, Sora threw herself on the couch and muttered, "I feel like a zombie."

"I'll go make you a cup of coffee." Izzy offered helpfully.

Mimi was going to say something when the doorbell rang, so she asked Sora, "Are you waiting for someone?"

Sora looked at her tiredly before whispering, "I hope that's not Nina." Smiling slightly, Mimi went to the door and looked out of the peep hole to see a familiar rock star.

Mimi switched to crisis mode… Well, a Fangirl-Crisis mode, anyway. She hurriedly ran to Sora, pulled her off the couch and pushed her towards the staircase.

Totally confused, Sora asked her "What's all that about? Who's at the door?"

"CHANGE NOW!" Mimi almost screamed at her, "Matt is at the door and you're in your pyjamas! Go go go!"

Knowing there was no point in arguing with Mimi, Sora hurried upstairs towards her bedroom to get changed. She heard Mimi talking to Matt downstairs. This was all too early for her.

...

As she walked downstairs again after changing her clothes, she heard Matt talking to Izzy. Mimi was standing near the stairs with a huge grin on her face. 'That can't be good,' Sora thought to herself as she descended.

When she was right next to her, Mimi whispered to her, "He was worried about you."

Sora sighed before saying, "He was worried about his work not progressing," which earned her a pout from Mimi. "I honestly think that one day you're going to make me really embarrassed."

"Now why would she do that?" asked Matt who suddenly appeared out of nowhere next to them.

'When did he come over here?' Sora wondered hoping he didn't hear what Mimi said earlier.

"That's Sora to you. She never trusts me," playfully, Mimi stuck out her tongue at Sora.

Sora smiled slightly at Mimi before directing her attention at Matt, "Sorry I didn't work on your designs in the last few days."

"I know what you're missing." Matt gave her his signature smile, before stating matter-of-factly, "you haven't been bonding enough with the whole band. You've only met me!"

Something shone in Mimi's eyes and before Sora could say anything, she practically jumped in front of Sora saying, "YES! You, Sora, have got to go meet the other guys."

Sora felt torn between her job and her daughter. What if something happened to Saya while she was out?

As if on cue, Mimi put her arms around Sora's shoulders and said, "Now, don't give it a single thought. Saya would be safe with me and Izzy here. YOU go do your work." She paused for a split of a second before whispering to Sora, "You don't want to see the dark side of Nina, do you?"

Sora gulped, before sighing and finally saying, "Fine. But only for an hour…" Before she even finished the sentence, Mimi was pushing her and Matt out of the door.

...

It was ten o'clock in the evening. _So much for the hour deal_, Sora thought. Matt and the other guys just took her through tons and tons of pictures of their previous shows, outfits, albums and well, other things. And all that while, they managed to be very hyper and excited. _Must have been all the coffee. Each one had his own coffee machine, for god's sake._

Matt was very happy for the first couple hours. Later, however, he started checking his watch every minute or so and his face started to get paler by the second. Even then, as he was driving her home, he looked as he had just seen a ghost. And HE was telling her earlier to lighten up!

As the got closer to her house, Matt seemed to tighten his grip on the steering wheel.

"Are you okay?" Sora, finally, asked.

Her voice seemed to startle him although she was sitting right there next to him. "Um….uh…No! I mean Yes!" He paused for a while before adding, "I might just be coming down with something…Must be Akira's cooking."

Sora chuckled a bit when she thought about Akira, one of Matt's friends and partners, cooking the worst spaghetti she had ever seen. It was so bad that it looked like soup…Smelled like one, too.

Before Matt took the last turn left before her house, he stopped the car abruptly in the middle of the road and muttered, "Sorry, Sora."

She looked at him quizzically. He wasn't moving. Not even breathing. She got scared just looking at him and decided to just get out of the car. It was only a couple steps more towards her house. As she got out of the car, she felt something was wrong. Something was very wrong. She hurried towards the house only to pause at the doorway. The door to her house was lying on the ground infront of her.

_What was going on?!_

**...**

**Next on "Ups and Downs":**

"_Tai, what're you doing here?"_

"_There's someone outside."_

"_So, for the sake of saving someone you care about, you don't mind kidnapping an innocent child?!"_

...

**I decided to include a "Coming Next" section at the end of each chapter. You know, to keep track with what's going on.**

**Also, I'm thinking of rewriting the earlier chapters. What do you, guys, think? Should I rewrite the earlier chapters? Or should I let them be and focus on what's coming next?**

**Finally, I wanted to thank everyone that added this story to their favourites , alerts or wrote a review. I'd love to hear what you guys have to say, so R & R, kay?**


	7. Guilty

**You didn't think I'll update this fast, did you? Well, I might have been inspired by the so many reviews and followers! It was really great of you guys. Anyways, here's the new chapter! Enjoy and don't forget R & R!**

**Chapter (7): Guilty**

For a few seconds, Sora just stood gasping at the broken door. Once she regained control over her legs, she ran into the house. Flipping on the lights didn't make the scene a whole lot better. Furniture was flipped over. The frames that were hanging on the wall lied on the ground broken. A smashed TV fell off and scratched the walls behind it. But all that was not a problem.

Sora ran upstairs frantically to Saya's room. She crept into the dark room afraid of what she might see in there. Feeling someone move beside her, a scream escaped her mouth before the attacker covered her mouth with his hand. She felt him push her against the wall and with his other hand, he felt for the light.

As the lights flickered on, she saw a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes. Seeing that she recognized him, he released her.

"Tai, what're you doing here?" Sora asked bewildered.

"I came over to check up on you…I mean Saya," He quickly corrected himself, "and when I saw the house like this, I came insideto see if you needed help."

Sora, quickly, looked around the room and when she didn't see Saya, Mimi or Izzy, she started running around the house from one room to another trying to find them until she ended up in the attic.

She put her hands on her mouth to stop herself from screaming and felt hot tears running on her cheeks. Lying on the ground were Mimi and Izzy. Mimi's hand was bleeding as well as one of her cheeks. Izzy seemed to have blood coming out of a scar on his shoulder and had bruises on his arms. She couldn't move, so Tai went over to her friends and felt heir pulses, before saying, "They're alive… I'll call a doctor."

Sora wanted to feel better for them, but her thoughts were only about Saya. She was nowhere in the house and her friends were like this. She could hear Tai's voice as if it were coming from a long distance talking on his cellphone to the doctor. Her knees buckled and she collapsed next to the wall. This must be a dream… no, a nightmare! Why wasn't she waking up? Why …

….

Tai's friend, Doctor Joe, was treating Mimi and Izzy's injuries, while Tai was grabbing some water for Sora. They had called the police who were now rushing around the house searching for clues. When he came back into the room, Tai knelt down next to Sora who was sitting on the ground with her legs hugged to her chest and her face buried in her legs and offered her the water, but she wouldn't move or look at him.

"Mr. Kamiya?"

Tai stood up to face the detective who was talking to him. The detective ushered him away from Sora and whispered, "There are not fingerprints."

Not thinking he heard correctly, Tai asked him, "Excuse me?"

"There ARE NO fingerprints." The detective said trying to clarify his words more.

A sarcastic chuckle escaped Tai as he said, "That doesn't make any sense."

"Well, that's the reason I'm talking to you. Have you moved anything from its place?"

"No," Tai replied trying to seriously remember if he or Sora moved anything, "We only turned on the lights when we …"

"I know that," the detective interrupted him. "The only fingerprints in the house are those of you, Miss Takenouchi, the two friends and the little girl."

"There has to be a mistake! The furniture won't flip over by itse…" Tai's voice was getting louder as he started feeling angry towards the detective, but he stopped abruptly when Joe called them.

Looking at where Joe was at, they saw Mimi coming to conscious. The detective hurried up to her and knelt next to her. Joe muttered that he shouldn't question her now, but the detective ignored him and asked her, "Miss Tachikawa, I'm Detective Farrell. Can you speak?"

She looked at him questioningly for a second before suddenly remembering what happened. She tried to get up quickly, but was still too dizzy and fell down. Joe mumbled, "she was most probably pushed on the ground hard enough to lose conscious. Izzy, however, was hit on the back of his head."

"Where's Saya?" Mimi asked them suddenly.

"That would be my question to you, Miss Tachikawa!"

Tai put his hand on the detective shoulder and threw him an angry glare saying, "I thought you heard the doctor, DETECTIVE. Don't question her until she has regained her composure."

"Are you teaching me how to do my job, Mr. Kamiya?"

"Well, if you haven't learnt that in your detective school, then I, the elementary school teacher, should tell you that her answers won't be of use when she's not very conscious."

The detective's face was getting red of anger and was going to say something back, when they heard Mimi saying, "They took her."

"Who took her?"

"I don't know. It was dark. We felt the windows and doors being thrown open and hurried to shelter Saya from the flying glass. The lights flickered off and we saw several bodies rushing into the house. Izzy pushed me and Saya out of the living room and I heard him fighting them. We ran upstairs into the attic and hid there. After hearing things getting broken downstairs for a few minutes, the door to the attic flew open. I stood up in front of Saya, but they threw Izzy's body on me and I hit the floor hard and … and … I lost conscious …"

"So, you say you saw bodies? What kind of bodies?"

"They were moving too fast for me to see them… too fast for humans."

"Not humans, huh?" The detective asked sarcastically, "Werewolves maybe? Vampires?"

Feeling him not believing her, Mimi pursed her lips.

"Do you expect me to believe you, Miss Tachikawa?"

"You can ask Izzy when he wakes up. He saw them for a longer time."

"Oh! I will! I will!"

…

Almost an hour later, Izzy woke up and gave his statement which didn't defer much from Mimi's. Of course, the detective was outraged and exclaimed that Mimi and Izzy were his top suspects. He was surprised, however, when Sora said, "I believe them."

When he asked her whether she heard of something like that before, Tai thought she would talk about the red eyes, but she didn't. She just said that her friends would never lie to her. With that, the detective left the house saying they'll inform them if (not when) something comes up.

Mimi, now, sat next to Sora who still had her face buried in her legs. She and Izzy apologized for what Tai could say the hundredth time, but Sora said nothing, but "It was my entire fault."

Tai sighed before asking her, "Why didn't you tell them? About the red eyes?"

Sora raised her head to look at him with puffy eyes and replied, "He wouldn't have believe me anyways. Besides, Saya said '_They don't like it when someone is around. They say you get in the way._'"

Tai was about to object when something caught his eye. He was standing next to the sole window in the attic when he said, "There's someone outside. In the bushes!"

He ran downstairs and a couple of minutes later, he came up dragging a familiar blonde … Yamato Ishida.

"Do you know this guy?" Tai asked.

"That's Matt, Sora's client," Mimi answered bewildered by the way he was holding Matt, "Release him, Tai!"

After glaring at Matt for one last second, he released the rock star before asking him, "why were you snooping around the house?"

Massaging his neck, Matt replied, "I thought I should check on Sora after seeing her door was knocked over."

"Sora spent the day with him. He was dropping her off," Mimi explained.

Tai seemed to be in pain, as he asked in a low voice, "Spent the day with him?"

"You're a liar!"

They all looked at Sora who stood up for the first time and was looking angrily at Matt. "You knew this was happening. You said you were sorry before we even saw my house. You felt guilty!"

Tai grabbed his shirt's collar and hit him in the wall before asking, "Where's Saya?"

Matt seemed to struggle with what to say before saying, "I had to. They had my brother."

"So, for the sake of saving someone you care about, you don't mind kidnapping an innocent child?!" Tai exclaimed at him and raised his fist to hit him, but Sora held his hand and asked him to step aside, before looking Matt in the eyes and asking, "Who are they?"

…

**Next on "Ups and Downs":**

"_Her aura … They want her aura."_

"_It was foolish of you to think I cared."_

"_I quit."_


	8. Pleading

**Yes! Another quick review! Can you believe this? I sure can't. This is a slightly shorter chapter, but a very important one, at least in my opinion. So, enjoy!**

**Also, could you please give me advice on something? Do you think I should rewrite the first few chapters? I feel that they might be misleading… and I KNOW they were poorly written, too. **

**Could you please advise me on that in your reviews?**

**Chapter (8): Pleading**

"So, for the sake of saving someone you care about, you don't mind kidnapping an innocent child?!" Tai exclaimed at him and raised his fist to hit him, but Sora held his hand and asked him to step aside, before looking Matt in the eyes and asking, "Who are they?"

Matt eyes locked with hers and felt his heart ache. There was a look on her face that reminded him of his mother when she came to tell him that his brother, TK, was gone.

_*...*_

_He checked the time on his alarm clock to see that it was 2:37 am. Who would be knocking on his door this late? Or early? Whatever._

_He put a bathrobe on and got up to answer the door. Maybe he should have been more careful and checked who it was before opening, but he was too sleepy to be sensible. It was his mother. Her face was pale and her eyes were puffy from crying._

"_Mom, come in." Although he usually wouldn't welcome her in this easily, she looked horrible and he felt something was wrong._

"_I'm sorry, Matt … It's just…" She shivered, but went on, "It's TK."_

"_What's wrong with him?" He asked her quickly._

"_He's gone … Has been missing for three days now."_

"_WHAT?" He asked her angrily, "And you haven't bothered telling me till now?! He's my brother, you know," She wasn't looking at him. Her head hung down in shame as he went on, "Even now, you don't trust me?!"_

_When she still didn't say anything, he asked her, "Did you call the police?"_

"_Of course, I did," she answered weakly, "Nothing... They say he probably ran away."_

_Matt shook his head, as he said, "TK would never do that."_

"_That's why I came to you," she raised her head to face him. Her eyes were pleading him to help her…to forget what she's done to him and his father and to help her._

_..._

Sora's eyes, however, were just pleading him. She hadn't done anything wrong to him. She would never have done anything to harm anyone. Yet, she had her daughter taken away from her. And HE did that.

Tai gripped his collar again and pressed him against the wall. "Well, pretty boy! Need something to refresh your memory? What do they want from Saya and Sora?"

Matt's voice came out close to a whisper, "Her Aura… They want her aura." _They won't believe him, of course. He wouldn't believe himself if he had heard that for the first time._

It was Mimi's turn to ask him, "Her what now?"

"Her Aura!" Izzy explained, "… a mythical field of radiation surrounding people of objects… Does that mean they are …?"

"Psivamps!" Matt continued his question for him, "yes, they are… They gain powers through absorbing the auras of those surrounding them."

"And we are supposed to believe that?" Tai asked angrily. He was a man of science. Well, he was an elementary school teacher, but still. He refused to be told such nonsense.

"It's the truth!" Matt replied a bit louder than before, "I am …they are psivamps. Psychic vampires!"

"I've heard of people like that." Izzy said, "but why Saya?"

"I'm not sure. They said a noble needed her," Matt replied.

"Please take us to her!" Sora begged him.

He had to look away as he replied, "It's too dangerous. Even with me as a guide."

"I don't care!" Sora replied stubbornly, "I'll do anything. They won't take away my only family!"

Matt felt his heart ache even more. TK has been HIS only family. His mother didn't count and his father … He was doing to Sora what was done to him. Does that make him as evil as Damon and his gang?

Suddenly, light came from the corner of the room. Something was appearing in the middle of the light…Was that a nose? A huge nose?

"Out of the way, you idiot!" Matt heard a familiar voice say.

"Damon?" Matt asked. Tai was so surprised that he kept staring at the mysterious image of a huge nose and didn't realize he released Matt.

They saw the nose…and apparently the nose's owner being thrown out of the way to reveal the image of a guy with long black hair and not a very cleanly shaven face. It was Damon.

"Idiot!" Damon shouted as he looked to his left…apparently talking to the nose owner. He, then, turned his face to look at Matt and the others and said, "Mattie! Good job, boy! Very good acting skills…But, apparently, not very good hiding skills. Already caught?" And he laughed loudly.

"Where's TK?" Matt asked quickly.

"What have you done to Saya?" came Sora's question right afterwards.

"I'm sure you all have good questions, but I'm here only for Mattie. I promised you to return TK back once you were done, Buuuut…" He trailed off teasingly.

"But what?" Matt asked impatiently.

"…Well, that's embarrassing. I can't!" Damon continued on happily, "He likes it here! He WANTS to stay."

"You, scum, I should have known you're no good." Matt yelled at him.

"I said I'd try, but it's out of my hands now! And I'll be honest with you…" He smiled devilishly, "It was foolish of you to think I cared."

With a final laugh, he disappeared.

Tai looked at Matt and whispered, "Serves you right."

Matt sat on the ground quietly for a minute or so before finally standing up and saying, "I'll help you."

_*...*_

Nina woke up in the morning in an unusually happy mood. She hummed as she fixed her coffee just the way she liked it. Sitting down to a complete warm breakfast, she turned on the news and started flipping through her emails like usual. Ads…Invitations…Spam…

She took another sip of her coffee only to spit it out after reading an email from Sora containing only two words … I quit.

_*...*_

**Next on "Ups and Downs":**

"_You just have to trust me on this."_

"_You forgive him?"_

"_I was an older brother too!"_


	9. Off we go!

**Another weekly update. Well, a couple things I need to clarify first.**

**1. Psyvamps is not something I made up. There are mentions of it on wikipedia and in several books. So, don't worry. I'm not going to be cheesy here.**

**2. This is a Sorato. As much as I don't like ruining how things turn out. It's a Sorato ... Or is it? ;)**

**3. All of the characters are there for a reason. Each of the characters has a history behind them. Meaning the flashbacks lead to future events.**

**That's it. So, R & R.**

**Disclaimer:**_ You, I and everyone else know that I DO NOT own Digimon or any of its characters._

**Chapter (9): Off we go! **

"I'm back!" exclaimed Mimi as she reentered the house with five bags…Five hot pink huge bags.

"What's all of that?" asked Matt with an eyebrow arched up as he pointed at Mimi's bags.

"You said we should bring all that we're going to need since we'll be gone for a while," Mimi said as if it were obvious, "I need these."

Matt sighed before muttering, "I should have been more specific," then he addressed Mimi again saying, "One backpack. That's all you can carry," at that Mimi gasped silently, "We're going to be traveling from one place to another and when I say travel, I don't mean we're always going to be using airplanes."

Izzy went over to Mimi with an empty backpack in his hand and handed it over to her. Mimi looked at her luggage and then at the backpack as if contemplating how to fit all that in this tiny backpack.

"You really don't have to come with us, Mimi," Sora, who was sitting at a kitchen counter, said. After Matt and she started talking about what to expect on this trip, she started thinking that she shouldn't let her friends face all that danger.

"Are you kidding?" Mimi exclaimed, "I HAVE to be there with you. You're my best friend and I'll follow you anywhere. Besides, I am the one who lost Saya and I will never forgive myself till I get her back safe and sound." With this new spirit, she started attacking her luggage and filling her backpack.

Matt, Izzy and Sora were surprised at the odd things she had packed in the luggage…A telephone, a set of knives, an evening dress and others. Mimi, suddenly stood up and faced Sora, "Ah! How could you, Sora?"

"Huh?" Sora looked at her slightly surprised by the sudden outburst.

"You sent an email to Nina saying you quit?!"

Sora didn't look at her. Instead, she stood up and went upstairs.

"She's always running," Mimi heard Izzy say, "Anytime she faces something she doesn't like, she decides to change her life completely."

Mimi sighed and went back to finishing off her luggage … her backpack.

…

"Where do you think you're going?"

Matt, Sora, Mimi and Izzy turned around to see Tai getting out of his car. He had to go to school and inform them of Saya…And to start his work day, supposedly.

Matt muttered under his breath, "Back Already?" The blonde rock star hated the chocolate haired teacher. Tai was always attacking him or shouting at him. When he was doing neither, he was looking at him suspiciously. Not that he could blame him. He was behind all they have been going through after all.

Nevertheless, he didn't want to meet him again.

"You're back?" Sora asked.

"Of course, I am. I asked the school for a sub until I came back."

Sora couldn't help but smile slightly at him. It was always nice and comforting to have him around. She had always felt that… ever since she met him for the first time.

…

"_So, you just moved here?" Tai asked with a huge grin on his face._

_Sora nodded. It was Saya who started explaining…well, as much as a five year old could, "Yup! We just mo'ed here. It's so pretty here. I luff it here."_

_Tai chuckled and knelt over to Saya offering her a chocolate bar he had in his pocket only earning a squeal of delight from her. She started munching on her beloved dessert only to stop suddenly and look at Tai asking, "Do you eat a lot of chocolate?"_

_Puzzled, Tai asked in return, "Why?"_

"_Your hair is made of chocolate!"_

…

Sora returned back to reality on Matt saying, "We need to go to the subway. The next train is in ten minutes."

"Well, get in then," Tai exclaimed as he pointed to his car. The five of them got in and Tai went into motion immediately.

Almost eight minutes later, they were in the station and hopping into the train. Due to the morning rush hour, the train was very crowded leading to them having to sit in different cars. The first two seats they came across were where Tai and Sora sat.

Matt nodded to them as he, Mimi and Izzy started moving past them. "We get off at the last stop," he said.

"Why do I feel that you are tricking us?" Tai cut in.

"You just have to trust me on this." Matt said as he headed off to the following car.

Sighing, Tai had to settle down. They had no choice BUT to trust him….and he hated that. He looked to his left where Sora was sitting. She was gazing out of the window. Her fiery hair was glittering under the rays of sunlight that made it into the train. Her eyes were sad. Dark circles were framing her eyes.

"Everything is going to be okay," he found himself saying. Lame … Uncreative … But he had nothing else on mind.

She looked at him with worry in her eyes. She really wished she could believe him, but after all she's been through in her life, she wasn't sure she could take it anymore.

"I hate that blonde," murmured Tai, out of the blue, only to earn himself a chuckle from Sora.

"I don't. Believe it or not," Sora said. "I forgave him."

"You forgave him?" Tai asked bewildered. "After all that you've been through?"

"He was worried about his brother," Sora explained sadly, but steadily, "I might have done the same if I were in his place. I am a mother. He is an older brother. We both ache for our beloved ones."

With that, she rested her head on the window and seemed to fall asleep. The long night was catching up with her finally.

Tai looked at her and whispered, "I was an older brother, too."

…

_It was another rainy day and Tai wasn't able to go out to the park and play soccer. Needless to say, he could find absolutely NOTHING to do at home. So, he was staring through the window hoping that the rain would stop. _

"_Good job, Teddy! You got it right." _

_He turned around to look at his sister Kari who had her toys sitting in a classroom-like setting with a small board behind her._

"_You're playing school again?" Tai asked boredly._

"_It's practice," Kari replied innocently. "For when I grow up."_

"_You want to be a teacher?" Tai asked to get a nod from Kari. "LAME!" He blurted out. "I want to be a famous soccer player. Now that's cool."_

…

"Wake up, Tai! We're here."

Tai opened his eyes to see Sora looking at him. He must have dozed off. Hurriedly, he picked up his and Sora's backpack and got off the train.

They waited on the platform for the other three for a few minutes before they caught up with them. Mimi was laughing. "Matt's fans!" was all she could say as Matt dragged them out of the station as fast as he could.

…

**Next on "Ups and Downs":**

"_Mattie, dear! You're back."_

"_We need to cover your scents. They're giving us away."_

"_I promise it won't hurt."_


	10. Smells like ?

**A longer chapter just for you, Ang91! Now that they arrived at the last stop, where could Matt be taking them? What's his plan? Does he HAVE a plan? Find out in this chapter.**

**Thanks a lot for all those who reviewed or followed the story. You always inspire me to write more and better, so please, don't forget to R & R. **

**Again, just a reminder, most of the terms like "Psyvamps" or "Sanguinarians" (See Below) are actual terms. **

**A second reminder: I DO NOT own Digimon or any of its characters and this fanfiction is just for fun purposes.**

**Chapter (10): Smells like … ?**

"Are you sure we are in the right place?" asked Tai accusingly.

Matt sighed for the umpteenth time before replying, impatiently, "Yes!" He was leading them through alleys and small streets. The stop that they got off on, BlueStroke Avenue, was actually empty except for them and Matt's fans who apparently were supposed to get off at an earlier stop and had to sit at the station waiting for another train to take them back.

BlueStroke Avenue was the biggest street they'd seen so far…well, ever since they got off the train. They went around the corner and Matt started leading them deeper and deeper into a jungle of old buildings and roads.

"We need more information and I know just the person who can help us," was all that Matt said and they had nothing else to do but follow his lead. Of course, with every passing minute, Tai, who was walking protectively by Sora's side, was getting more and more impatient … and suspicious, but again what else could he do?

"Ah! Here we are," exclaimed Matt as he pointed at a small diner. "Mama Kellie's" the sign said. A delicious smell came from inside which reminded Sora that she was hungry. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, however. _No food till I get Saya_, she thought.

Matt pushed the door open and ushered the girls and Izzy inside. Tai refused to go in, suspecting that Matt would make a run as soon as they went in and pushed him inside. Once the blonde stepped it in, they heard a loud exclaim, "Mattie dear! You came back!"

Matt couldn't help but smile as a huge woman wearing a white apron hugged him ….No, squeezed him hard. She appeared to be in her early sixties with graying hair and some wrinkles here and there, but one look at her eyes and you'd decide she's as lively as ever.

She took a step back sizing Matt's form up and down until she declared, "You need to put on some weight, young man. I'll have to fix you a big meal like the good ol' days." She looked at the others and said, "You haven't come here in a long time and now you're back with friends! I am touched."

Matt felt bad that he had to tell her that he didn't come to only visit her and that they were NOT his friends. He was actually surprised that Tai didn't blurt out right then and there that Matt was NOT his friend and maybe tell on him. Surprisingly, Matt actually cared about what Mama Kellie thought of him more than his own mother's opinion of him.

"Actually, Mama, I need your SPECIAL dish," He said in the tone of an ashamed child.

She looked at him and nodded understandingly, "Sure. Follow me!" She led them towards the back of the room to a small table by the kitchen door. "You won't mind sitting by the kitchen, would you? We are all packed."

There were very few people present and she must have noticed that what she said was very ridiculous, so she, quickly, added, "The other tables are reserved."

She hurried into the kitchen, as they sat down, and re-emerged with a purple candle. As she placed the candle on the table, Sora caught a weird smell, a mixture between grape vines, lemons and …vanilla, maybe?

"I'll be right back with your order!" She nodded at Matt and went to serve another family that came into the shop.

"Weird smell," said Sora.

Matt looked around and whispered, pointing at the candle, "It's for cutting off eavesdroppers." Now that she paid more attention, she noticed that some sort of very faint purple vapor was circling around them.

A few minutes later, Kellie sat down on a fifth chair and smiled at them as she reassured them, "Nobody will be able to hear us now…well, they are not going to hear what we are saying exactly anyways." When she noticed the confused looks on Sora and the others' faces, she asked Matt, "They are not from around here, are they?"

Matt shook his head and said, "We are here on a mission." He ran his fingers through his hair as he went on, "We are looking for Damon and his gang." He pointed at Sora and said, "They kidnapped Sora's daughter."

Tutting, Kellie, hugged Sora, who was sitting on her left, and said, "He's one spoiled brat, that Damon. Never liked him. Not even when he was a kid and you were hanging out."

Tai smirked as he threw Matt a look that said, 'Well, I expected you two were related.'

Kellie went on, "Let's see. David Springfield, you know, that short friendly man that works in an antique shop, was complaining a few days ago about Damon and his gang moving into an old house by the pier. Apparently they have been giving everyone there a hard time. They well moved out of the Graffiti phase."

"By the Pier, huh?" Matt said thoughtfully. He was going to say something else, when his eyes caught something…rather someone at the front of the shop. A guy came into the room with wild black messy hair and slightly pale complexion followed by two other men wearing long dark jackets. They didn't look very friendly.

Kellie turned around to see who he was looking at and at once, shoved Matt and the others into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" asked Tai angrily.

"You scents!" Matt said panicking, as he looked around for anything that helps, "We need to cover your scents. They're giving us away."

"What do you mean?" asked Mimi.

"They are Sanguinarians," Kellie explained in a whispered voice, "They drink blood of non-vampires. They smelled you coming in and now they are looking for you."

Suddenly, Matt got an idea. He quickly started emptying boxes of garlic that Kellie had just received and created a high enough pile of garlic. Without a single word said, he pushed the other four into it. Quickly, he hurried and took an extra apron that was hanging by the door and put it on.

Just as he did that, the door to the kitchen was opened. The black haired guy entered the kitchen with the other two. Matt pretended to stir the contents of a pot on the stove.

"Where are they?" asked the guy angrily.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Kellie acting surprised that they came into her kitchen.

"The nonvamps!" His voice was harsher and louder by now.

"Nonvamps? There are no nonvamps in my kitchen. Matt is my only assistant."

He was growing impatient, "We saw them. Don't try to trick us."

"Oh! You mean the people that came into the kitchen with us?" She asked innocently.

When she didn't elaborate, he shouted, "Yes!"

"They were a family of psyvamps that live on a farm nearby. Two brothers and their wives. Very lovely people. They were finishing off a deal with me," As if to prove her point, she pointed at the pile of garlic, "They plant the best garlic ever."

He wasn't very satisfied, so he turned around to look at Matt who was whistling as he cooked. He was dicing potatoes evenly, slicing carrots expertly and adding a pinch of salt artistically. One look at him would convince anyone he belonged in the kitchen. He was an expert cook!

Smelling the nonvamps no more and seeing nowhere to hide, the guy and his gang left through the back door angrily.

After waiting for a few more minutes, Kellie checked outside and when she saw no trace of the gang, she let out a sigh of relief and said, "You can come out now."

The four of them came out of their hideout and started stretching. Hiding under a pile of garlic is right next to sleeping on a bed of nails on the "Top 10 uncomfortable places to sit" list.

"That was so uncomfortable," muttered Mimi as she massaged her neck.

"And it's all because of you, blonde!" hissed Tai as he threw another angry look at the rock star's back.

"I always read that garlic is used against vampires, but not in THIS way," said Izzy chuckling. "Prodigious thinking, Matt!"

"Pro what now?" asked Mimi only to make Izzy blush.

Matt turned around with a big serving dish with some sort of strips of fried chicken dipped in whatever sauce he was cooking when the guys came in.

"Have some," he offered the plate to them. Mimi and Izzy took one each and immediately expressed delight. Tai, who was refusing to eat anything cooked by the blonde in the beginning, finally gave in and took not only one or two, but three strips.

Sora didn't want to take any of it, still thinking to herself _No food till I find Saya_, but Matt looked at her and gave her a knowing smile as he said, "You need your energy. Believe me! When you're dealing with Damon and his gang, you need all the strength you can get." When she hesitated, he laughed and said, "I promise it won't hurt!"

She took one and couldn't believe how delicious it tasted. Matt really surprised her with his ability to cook. She hadn't tasted something this good since her mother passed away. Well, when she was married, she had professional cooks that fixed all of her meals, but she was far too unhappy to like what they cooked. Besides, they always tasted like they lacked something. Spirit, maybe? What was she thinking? She should only be thinking of Saya!

'_What a terrible mother I am!'_, she thought.

"You can't walk with them around like that!" Kelley was talking to Matt.

"I know. Their smell is more powerful that I thought," Matt admitted as he sat on a nearby stool thinking.

"We smell? Of what?" Mimi asked as she wiped her mouth clean from the sauce.

"Each has a different smell," explained Kelley. "A signature smell, if you may."

Matt nodded as he absently elaborated further, "Mimi smells like strawberry. Izzy smells like lemons and Tai smells like burning wood."

"Hey!"complained Tai.

"What about Sora?" asked Mimi, further.

Matt woke up from his deep thoughts and seemed to have been startled as he rambled, "It's.. she…She smells like… I can't really explain it."

He was blushing for some reason, but quickly, he was back to his cool demeanor, "I know someone who can help us hide your smells. You have to wait here till I come back."

"Yeah, right!" protested Tai, "like that ever going to happen. We wait here and you ditch us."

"Well, I can't take YOU with me," Matt mocked Tai, "you have a strong smell. You'll only attract more Sangs!"

Kelley understood that there was a significant extent of distrust between Matt's "friends" and Matt, so she said, "Well, Izzy, here! Your name is Izzy, right?" she asked Izzy.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, Izzy's smell is not very powerful. It could pass for a cologne," she went on. "Take him with you."

Matt shrugged as he motioned for Izzy to follow him out of the back door.

**Next on "Ups and Downs":**

"_She went cuckoo a long time ago."_

"_It won't work, Izzy. Besides, would you even want Mimi to love you that way?"_

"_He's your big brother?!"_


	11. The Messy Old Shop

**Long time no see, friends. Things have been quite hectic for me lately and I do apologize for the long wait. I'll try to update regularly now. Before I let you go into the chapter, I just wanted to say that the last sentence in the "Next on Ups and Downs" from last chapter (Chapter 10) was by mistake. This belongs to Chapter 12.**

**Thanks, a lot for all those who reviewed or followed the story. You always inspire me to write more and better, so please, don't forget to R & R. **

**Disclaimer (But you already knew that, didn't you?): I DO NOT own Digimon or any of its characters and this fanfiction is just for fun purposes.**

**Chapter (11): The messy old shop**

Matt and Izzy walked in silence for a while. Izzy didn't know what he could possibly talk about with a rock star. Then, again, usually he wouldn't even be walking with one. Even though, he worked for a major fashion company, he was always in the background…behind the scenes. He did a lot for the company, but nobody knew he existed.

He didn't really complain about that. He liked being hidden. He actually preferred working with machines than human…well, most of the time. But he wasn't a machine. He was human with a heart and that was why he fell in love. He had a crush on Mimi ever since his eyes fell on her for the first time, but unlike the other guys, she captured him with her personality. She wasn't like the other models, pompous and vain. She was nice, funny, humble and …

"Penny for your thoughts?" Matt interrupted his thoughts.

"Nothing really…It's just I have seen things within the last few hours I thought only happened in movies. It's a lot to take in."

The blond rock star chuckled, "I know how that feels….Well, partially. I've always been into this world, so I can't directly relate to that, but I can imagine."

"So, where are we going again?"

Matt smirked and said, "A very interesting place I'd like to call 'The Shop'."

Chuckling, Izzy commented, "Descriptive much?"

Matt shrugged, "Well, she doesn't have a name for it, so we all called it 'The Shop'. Nobody really goes there anyway, so why bother call it anything?"

"Who's 'she' that you're referring to?"

"Um…She's an old fortuneteller. But let's just put it this way," Matt paused for a second and said, "She went cuckoo a long time ago."

"Well, she has to be if she believes in fortunetelling," scoffed Izzy.

"Is she?" Matt asked with a knowing look, "Well, you believe in vampires now. Does that make you crazy?"

Smiling, Izzy replied, "Not bad, Matt. You got me there…But seriously though, you believe in her."

Matt shook his head, "It's said she was really good until one night when she saw something very scary and lost her mind. She lost her mind and most of her talent. She can't do anything right now…Except for one thing."

"I'm assuming that's the thing we're going for?"

"You got it right. Human's scent mask…It's not actually a mask. It's a necklace, but it masks humans' smell."

Izzy nodded and followed Matt around a corner.

…...

"HUMAN! HUMAN! HUMAAAA-A-A-A-N!"

Izzy's heart sank to his feet as he stared at the small brown face that was screaming in his face. His chuckling companion merely tapped the head on its back and the noise died. He couldn't help but ask, "What in the world was that?!"

Before Matt could ask, a shaky voice replied, "That, human, is an alarm…They could come after me."

They turned around to see a small old lady leaning by the counter. Her half closed eyes scanned Izzy then turned to look at Matt. "Little Matt, you've grown a lot."

Matt smiled a little and walked to the counter for her to touch his face, "Good to see you too, Madamme Tortuine."

She chuckled a little and said, "What brought you back, little Matt?...And why did you bring that human along?"

"I need your expertise."

Her smile widened, "I haven't heard that in a while…I used to hear that all the time…but now…No one seems to remember me anymore…There used to be a time when I had no time to take on new cases, but now…" She cut her speech short and asked, "How can I help you, little Matt?"

The blond rock star leaned forward on the counter and said, "I need four of your best human scent masks."

Izzy raised an eyebrow, "Four? We're…"

Matt nodded and replied, "We might need one for Saya."

Madamme Tortuine chuckled and got off the counter and went into a room in the back only for Matt's phone to start ringing. He made a 'tsk tsk' sound and muttered under his breath as he went outside to answer the call, "The band…Excuse me for a second."

Izzy found himself alone in a shop that was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. He saw a shelf with small crystal bottles and thanks to his everlasting curiosity, he walked towards it. Picking one bottle up, he read the label. 'Love Potion', it said.

"One drop into her cup and she's yours forever."

He almost dropped the bottle startled by the sudden voice. He turned around to see Madamme Tortuine leaning by a walking stick and giving him a smile.

"They say I lost my touch, but I beg to differ." Reaching for his hand, she closed his fingers around the bottle and said, "On the shop."

Before he could say anything, he heard Matt say, "You got them, Madamme Tortuine?"

She smiled and turned around to face him as she said, "I sure did. Four masks." She raised her hand in the air and Izzy saw four small found disks that changed colors under the light. The disks were to be worn around the neck as charms or something.

Matt smiled and said, "Great. Ring us up."

She nodded and wobbled to the counter and before they knew it, they were walking back to the diner. They walked in silence for a few more minutes before Matt broke the silence saying, "It won't work, Izzy. Besides, would you even want Mimi to love you that way?"

**Next on "Ups and Downs":**

"_He's your big brother?!"_

"_No! Things weren't going to be alright and you know that!"_


	12. Reunions

**Last chapter was a bit too short, so I was hoping this one would be a little bit longer. Hopefully, you'll all enjoy it :) **

**Thanks, a lot for all those who reviewed or followed the story. You always inspire me, so please, don't forget to R & R.**

**Oh and if you are interested, I am starting a new Digimon fanfiction named "The white rose" today. Do give it a try when you want to!**

**Disclaimer (But you already knew that, didn't you?): I DO NOT own Digimon or any of its characters and this fanfiction is just for fun purposes.**

**Chapter (12): Reunions**

Tai leaned by the wall waiting for the blonde rockstar he hated so much to return with Izzy. Sighing for the umpteenth time for that day, he couldn't help but wonder if Matt might have kidnapped Izzy and left them behind. His chocolate brown eyes travelled across the room until they landed on Sora. She was staring at the wall with dead eyes. Sensing someone coming to stand by his side, he looked to his right only to be met with Mimi's hazel eyes.

"She looks so … heartbreaking, huh?" She asked trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah...And we have one person to blame for that." He replied putting his hands in his pockets.

Mimi smiled a little and said, "Come on. He's not so bad. We all make mistakes."

"Not this huge!" He retorted only to have her chuckle a bit more before saying, "Honestly you're so stubborn. I bet you'd have done the same if someone threatened you with someone you care about."

Tai opened his mouth to say something back only to close it again...Would he have done that if someone threatened him with Sora...or his sister?...Absentmindedly, he ran his fingers through his brown hair.

Sensing she had said something wrong, Mimi whispered softly, "Tai?"

Before he could assure her that he was alright, the door opened and they saw Izzy and Matt come back in. Sora immediately jumped to her feet and walked towards them.

"About time blondie," muttered Tai only to receive a smirk from Matt.

Without saying anything, Matt threw Tai a charm pendant then gave the other to Sora, "Wearing them would be a good mask for now...Of course everyone will still be able to see you, but it's a good progress at least."

Izzy stretched his hand to give Mimi her pendant only to blush a little when her fingers brushed against his. Surprisingly, she was completely unaware of his expression as she said, "I expected something more exquisite looking...Not so disk like."

"Well...Beggars are no choosers," said Tai.

Matt chuckled a little and said, "We should get going. Auntie Kellie, wish us luck."

The big woman gave Matt a squeezing hug before saying, "Take care."

...

"Can I ask a question?" asked Mimi.

"Of course" came the reply from Matt who was leading the way towards the port.

"What are we going to do when we find them?"

Matt came to a complete stop when he heard the question. Turning around slowly, they noticed his blue eyes turn into a soft shade of red before they went back to normal. After a minute or so, he said, "I will fight them. You will get Saya out of there and leave immediately."

For the first time in a long while, they heard Sora's voice, "Fight them? Alone?"

His eyes softened a little at her concern and said, "You don't stand a chance against them...And I wouldn't want to risk losing Saya again...Besides, I still need payback for TK."

Tai rolled his eyes, and muttered, "And suddenly blondie has morals."

"I happen to have some...I am fixing everything I've ruined, aren't I?"

"You shouldn't have done it in the first place."

"Tai Kamiya...I happen to know that I made a mistake. No need to throw it at my face everytime you open your mouth."

It was bound to happen that those two would get into an argument. Izzy, wise as always, walked to stand between the two, who were glaring at each other, and said, "I think we need to talk about this later...I think I saw someone move over there."

The two turned around to look at the alley where Izzy was pointing. There was no one, but suddenly they saw someone emerge from the darkness. A girl with long black hair and a pair of stunning blue eyes. Tilting her head to the side a little as if trying to understand something, she asked in an audible whisper, "Can he be...?"

"Who are you?" asked Matt in a somewhat commanding voice.

"Lisa." Replied the girl as she quickly came closer to Tai and sniffed him. Suddenly a huge smile came to her face as she exclaimed, "You must be!"

Tai, who was very uncomfortable with her being so close to him sniffing him like that, asked frowning, "Are you crazy or something? What are you talking about?"

She didn't reply. Instead she grabbed his arm and quickly, she pulled Tai and started running in some direction. It took the others a second to realize what just happened. Izzy immediately headed after her. The two girls looked at Matt who asked them, "Do we have to save him?"

When Sora gave him a look...Similar to the one mothers gave their children when disapproving their behaviour, he sighed and started running in the same direction followed by the two girls.

...

After a few minutes of running like crazy, Tai found himself being pushed into a house. Once she let go of his arm, he turned around and yelled at her," What's wrong with you, woman?!"

"Tai?"

Hearing that voice made him freeze in his spot...Could it be? Turning around slowly, he saw her standing in the doorway leading from the living room to the next room. Her chocolate brown eyes that were too similar to his were sparkling as always. Her short brown hair now reached her shoulders.

"Kari?" asked Tai unsurely.

With tears starting to flow from her eyes and across her cheeks, she launched herself at him and gave him a big hug saying, "Big brother. I can't believe it's you!"

…..

Sora, Matt, Mimi and Izzy came to a halt in front of a house where 'Lisa' was waiting for them. The door leading to the house was opened and they were surprised to see Tai hugging a girl. She had her long brown hair in a high ponytail and a huge smile on her face as she hugged Tai.

After letting go of him, she turned around to face them with some tears in her eyes and asked, "Your friends?"

Tai nodded with a smile still on his face. The girl bowed a little in curtsy and said, "I'm Kari. Tai's sister. Please come in."

Surprise was clear on their faces as they followed her into the house with Lisa at the very back. Kari kept glancing at her brother all the time as she showed them where the bathroom was and where the kitchen was and asked them to make themselves comfortable.

Matt noticed something on her though. Kari was not a human…Before he could ask, he heard a crash coming from right behind him. Of course, he turned around to see the source of all the commotion…Only for his jaw to drop.

His blue eyes met eyes of the same color. Neither of them said anything until Kari asked worriedly, "TK?"

TK breathed in and out slowly, then smiled a little at his brother and said, "…Brother."

Kari asked in surprised, "He's your big brother?"

...

"Kari…We missed you. I missed you." Tai said as he and Kari stood in the balcony enjoying the breeze.

She couldn't help but smile at her older brother. He looked different. Very different from the last time she saw him. "Me too, Tai."

"Why did you leave? Why didn't you call?"

Looking away, she sighed, "… I was changed…Against my will."

"Even if you were, you knew you could depend on me? I wouldn't care if you…changed."

"I was scared. I didn't want to hurt you. Blood lusts took over me easily and I wasn't sure if I could control myself….I didn't even want TK to come with me."

"He's a human and he followed. He looks very healthy to me." He was hurt that his little sister didn't trust him. He'd always been there for her. They used to share all of their secrets together…All except for one. And that one turned out to be huge.

Kari put a hand on his arm and said, "I didn't know he did until I came here. By the time, I came here, some Sangs helped me…When they found him out, they almost killed him, but I was able to convince them that he would stay here and not let out our secret to the world…But they made me promise not to contact my human family…I couldn't risk not listening to them."

This was scary. He found his sister, but the question was 'what now?' Could he take her back? What if those Sangu…Sang-whatever people hurt them?

…...

"Honestly TK. I was worried sick!" yelled Matt.

"I know Matt. And I am very sorry, but Kari needed help and …"

"You could have at least left a message!" exclaimed Matt as he walked up and down the room angrily.

"If I did, you would have known where I am. Mother would have wanted me back," explained TK. "She wouldn't have approved of me dating Kari. Besides, after I came here, the Sangs made us promise we won't contact our human families."

"Newsflash TK. I am NOT human!"

"I was scared that mom would be with you when I called. Or that dad would know. You know he always found a way to track you down…"

"TK…" Matt's eyes started to soften a bit as he started to understand where his brother was coming from. "Thing would have been oka…"

TK didn't even wait for him to finish the sentence. He jumped right in and said, "No! Things weren't going to be alright and you know that!"

Matt sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair…Sadly he knew that TK was right. Noticing that he made his point clear, TK decided to change the topic and asked, "Why are you here again, Matt? Not that I am not happy to see you. I just know you try to avoid the place."


End file.
